Team Rocket's Meowth
Team Rocket's Meowth (Japanese: ニャース Nyarth) is a member of Team Rocket in a trio with Jessie and James. History As far back as he can remember is being an infant normal Meowth who was starving at Camp Pokéhearst. He mistook basketballs for food and was hung up a tree and from there, he was able to see the film That Darn Meowth! which led him to escape from there to the city of Hollywood. There, he tried to steal food from a store and was beaten, but was made part of a gang of Meowth led by a Persian which led to him getting the food he wanted. Then one day, he saw a female Meowth called Meowzie in a window and fell in love with her. She claimed her owner was better than him and he tried to be human by causing his legs to stand up like a human and he later spoke the language. However, Meowzie saw him as a freak and so he left Hollywood to find the fame and fortune she wanted. He was brought to the Team Rocket HQ by a Team Rocket Grunt where he was put to work for Giovanni. He didn't do very well, so he was put in a team with Jessie and James. However, during an accident that injured James, they lost a competition before a real break-in to a security tower with all three of them that resulted in them becoming agents. They soon began seeking rare and valuable Pokémon to give to the boss, during which they raided a Pokémon Center in Viridian City and encountered a trainer named Ash Ketchum and they developed a desire for his Pikachu due to its power that Meowth assumed "exceeded the evolutionary level". During which of their pursues of him, Meowth returned to Hollywood and found Meowzie had been forced to join the street Meowth. He tried to help her by defeating Persian, but she chose to stay with the gang. Meowth soon watched the moon. Because of the effort Meowth exerted while learning to speak and walk like a human, he has not learned the signature move of his species, Pay Day. In Meowth Rules, Meowth was worshiped by an island of people who believed that he could bring them riches with Pay Day. When he was caught in a battle meant to induce Pay Day, Jessie and James had to secretly bail him out by throwing the last of their spare change and some of James's prized bottlecaps in order to appease the islanders. Upon learning of his species' love for gathering coins and shiny objects from Ash's Pokédex later in Do I Hear a Ralts?, Jessie criticized him for not doing so. Several times, Meowth and Pikachu have had to team up, such as in the episodes Bound for Trouble and Hoenn Alone when both were separated from their respective parties. His relationship with Jessie and James varies in quality; for example, in Go West, Young Meowth they stated that they regarded Meowth as a friend, but in Bound for Trouble, having discovered Meowth and Pikachu after the two had been stuck together, they both stated that they had really been looking for Pikachu and Meowth was just 'part of the package'. Meowth seems to have aspects of each of his teammates in him; in arguments, he can often be seen siding with either Jessie (usually denouncing James' incompetence) or James (usually complaining about Jessie's overdramatic and rash behavior). Despite these fights, the three remain very close and loyal friends, although at one point in Giovanni's Gym in Viridian City, they threatened to split up. However they realized they had over reacted, and became friends again, proving themselves very loyal to each other. Meowth has also, since late Johto, had frequent fantasies about presenting Giovanni with various Pokémon. These fantasies often involve whatever creature it happens to be assisting Giovanni in his daily routine. Much like Ash's Pikachu, Meowth does not stay inside a Poké Ball, but is technically a wild Pokémon unlike Pikachu. Strangely, though he first appeared in the second episode, in an era where Ash scanned nearly every Pokémon he came into contact with with his Pokédex, it took until Do I Hear a Ralts? for Ash to do this to Meowth. However, this was a mere accident: Meowth was dressed up like a Kirlia, and Ash had never seen one before. In Two Degrees of Separation, Dawn, unlike Ash, scanned him right away. She also made the same mistake as Ash when she scanned Meowth as a Shiftry in Leave it to Brocko!. Also, in the episode The Lost Lapras, Tracey started examining Meowth (despite not having a Pokédex), but only because he was interested in the fact that he could talk. Meowth normally does not battle unless there are extreme circumstances; his explanation is that his ability to talk and walk upright came at the expense of battling ability. However, when forced to fight, Meowth is fairly resourceful, such as dumping a bucket of water on an Onix to weaken it. In Jumping Rocket Ship, however, Meowth fought extremely well, even knocking out Barry's Empoleon with Fury Swipes, which normally wouldn't do much damage. Yet just two episodes later, in Get Your Rotom Running!, Meowth was unable to break a display case using Scratch. Meowth's Fury Swipes attack was shown to slice dough in order to make ramen in the episode, Noodles! Roamin' Off!. Christopher, a former Team Rocket member and the owner of the ramen shop, saw Meowth do this and asked him to work in his restaurant as a noodle maker. After some thought, which included reflecting back on previous failures and the lack of appreciation and respect from Jessie and James, Meowth quit the Team Rocket Trio and accepted the offer. However, he eventually rejoined the group after hearing that James and Jessie were in danger. Meowth has used his claws to pick locks on several occasions, such as when Jessie, James, and he wanted to get into the Old Chateau in Canalave City. Jessie also used him during the Princess Festival in the episode Princess vs. Princess, Jessie's Contest in Mean With Envy and the Pokémon Ping Pong Tournament in ''To Thine Own Pokémon Be True!. In the Appeals Round in the Contest, he created an ice sculpture of Giovanni, his Persian and himself.'' In "the Jester"'s battle with Erica, he used "Transform". He did this by using the pouch attached to his belly. He transformed into a Sunflora first, using Razor Leaf against Jynx. Later, he transformed into a Kirlia and again into a Wailord. He popped the inflatable Wailord with his claws and "the Jester" was eventually disqualified. In To Thine Own Pokémon Be True!, Jessie and Meowth were disqualified from the Pokémon Ping Pong Tournament because Meowth sliced the ball with his claws instead of hitting it. In Dressed for Jess Success!, James disguised as Jessilina due to Jessie being sick. Meowth, following his promise in Old Rivals, New Tricks!, is used for the appeal, where he used his talent for slicing ramen noodles. The two then gave the judges the ramen to taste, which was declared to be of excellent quality. Upon seeing the appeal on TV, Christopher became very proud. In Arceus and the Jewel of Life, Meowth first made an appearance in the opening song when he and Team Rocket were powering a blimp by peddling on a bike. However, they grew tired and crashed before they had a chance to do anything. Not too long after, Team Rocket appeared again when Kevin explained Sheena's ability to communicate with Pokémon. Meowth appeared later in the movie when Arceus was floating down to investigate the fake Jewel of Life. After Arceus found out the Jewel was fake, it attacked the group. Ash, Sheena, Kevin, Dawn and Brock escaped, but Team Rocket was caught in the explosion and ended up being washed into the lake. Meowth made minor appearances throughout the rest of the movie as the battle between the legendary Pokémon continued. Meowth also made an appearance in the credits, when an Electrode used Explosion on Team Rocket when they sneaked into the corn field. In the Best Wishes series, Jessie, James, and Meowth were sent to the Unova region under orders from Giovanni after they were promoted in Memories are Made of Bliss!. To prevent them from getting too much attention, Giovanni did not allow Jessie's and James's other Pokémon to be sent to them, only making them use Pokémon native to Unova. This, however, made Meowth think of what would happen to him. Throughout most of the series, Meowth and his two friends were presented as horribly failing and erroneous criminals, always failing in their missions to capture Ash's Pikachu or other Pokémon. Recently, however, he, along with the rest of his team, developed a more serious attitude in their work, as he had when first introduced, being quicker-witted and much more resourceful than before and using ingenious methods of escape and thus proving much more difficult for Ash to defeat. He has also demonstrated much more battling skill than before, being agile enough to land on his feet when blown back by Ash's Pidove's Gust, and unlike before, does not horribly injure himself in battle. They arrived in Nimbasa City during the Club Battle and Meowth came up with a plan and faked being fired from Team Rocket by being beaten up and left alone on Unova Route 4 where Ash, Iris and Cilan found him. He went with them for a while until they returned to Nimbasa City where he took all the Poké Balls from the center and brought them to the Ghost Train in the Nimbasa Subway. They were stopped by the gang and Ingo and Emmet, then made their way around Unova doing schemes such as capturing Landorus, Tornadus and Thunderus on Milos Island and trying to make their way to the past using Ferris' Carracosta, retreating to Kanto after their "Operation Tempest" at the Abyssal Ruins resulted in the Weather trio destroyed their plans. Jessie, James and Meowth soon returned to Unova with new Pokémon. In BW119 Team Rocket invaded Colress's newest laboratory and drew his security into a trap in the woods. Once Colress was alone, Meowth approached him and attempted to convince him to join Team Rocket. Colress refused, but offered to allow Meowth to participate in an experiment to increase his strength. Meowth agreed, having undergone training to resist the mind control device. However, Colress still managed to take control of Meowth, and ordered him to attack Jessie and James. Using Frillish and Amoonguss, they managed to snap him out of it before escaping. Personality and characteristics Meowth has an ambitious, conniving, and idealistic personality. He has made it his life goal to please Giovanni (or "Boss", as he and his teammates call Giovanni), and will stop at nothing to capture or steal useful or rare Pokémon, especially Ash's Pikachu, which he has been pursuing since he encountered him in Pokémon Emergency. Unlike most other Pokémon, who are not truly evil and will only commit evil deeds when ordered to do so, as stated by Jessie's Ekans in Island of the Giant Pokémon, Meowth is both perfectly capable of and willing to commit evil deeds without the aid of others. Despite his seemingly outgoing nature, Meowth also has a contemplative inner side not seen as often. In one of his image songs, Meowth's Song, and in Mewtwo Strikes Back, he is shown to be a bit of a philosopher. In Mewtwo Strikes Back, he and his clone (in addition to Pikachu) were the only Pokémon not to participate in the giant battle, Meowth remarking (in the dub) that the originals and the clones shared the same air, moon, and planet, giving them common ground. Meowth comforted Ash's Chimchar in Tears For Fears! and actually expressed some admiration for Ash and his friends, commenting, "You (Chimchar) have buddies who'd give you the shirt off their backs if you needed one." It is possible during that time that Meowth developed a friendship with it, as seen in A Real Rival Rouser when he, Jessie and James cheered it on, and in Evolving Strategies when he was happy to see it evolve. On a few occasions, Meowth has become stranded with Pikachu, and during these times, the two work together fairly well. Pikachu distrusts Meowth for obvious reasons, but Meowth is more willing to let go of the past and work together. Usually, by the end of these episodes, Meowth will betray Pikachu once they find Jessie and James. Meowth is an amorous Pokémon, developing crushes on occasion (obviously not as much as Brock, but still a fair amount). The first of these was the aforementioned Meowzie. The next one seen is Cassandra, the (human) herbalist. Due to this infatuation, he decided to help her Paras evolve. However, he was replaced by a Persian so that he can continue traveling with Jessie and James, as Cassandra thought he was a hero and should continue doing his (not so) good work with Team Rocket. After this, three more cat-based Pokémon followed, beginning with May's Skitty. However, due to the fact that Jessie wanted to catch the Skitty, Meowth helped Skitty escape in order to avoid Skitty getting hurt with the rest of the team. Later on, in Big Meowth, Little Dreams he fell in love with another Skitty. In For The Love Of Meowth, Meowth fell in love with a Glameow this time, one that belongs to Mamie. Similar to May's Skitty, Meowth tried to get away from Jessie and James so Glameow would not join them in blasting off. After Meowth was surrounded by Jessie, James, Ash, Dawn, Brock and Mamie, Meowth gained power from the love he felt, allowing him to defeat several Pokémon thrown at him, including Ash's Infernape and Staraptor, Jessie's Seviper and Yanmega and Dawn's Togekiss. However, after getting hit with James's Carnivine's Bullet Seed, Glameow evolved into Purugly and squished Meowth, making Meowth lose his feelings for her. In Movie Time! Zorua in "The Legend of the Pokémon Knight"!, Luke's Zorua used this trait to her advantage and turned into a female Meowth causing Meowth to become infatuated and unable to do her harm. He did this again in Purrloin: Sweet or Sneaky? when he fell in love with a Purrloin he thought was female. During the time when Meowth was traveling with the group, Oshawott fought with him, usually when the two exploit two of their characteristics at the same time (falling in love with the same Pokémon, or when their prides are being entangled). Meowth also has demonstrated aspirations of being a parent-like caretaker, coddling Togepi's Egg before fighting for custody of it, only to finally lose it to Misty. To regain custody of Togepi, he even defeated Brock's Onix by throwing a bucket of water in its face and finishing it with a Fury Swipes attack to the head. In Japanese, he often puts the word "Nya" into his sentences, the equivalent of a meow in Japanese. This was abandoned in the English dub shortly after the beginning of the series. Because Meowth can speak human language but is a Pokémon, he is useful as a Pokémon translator. Despite being a Pokémon though, he is in charge of building and repairing the machines used by his team. Moves Used Moves Improvised *In Bound For Trouble, Meowth jumped onto a Rhydon and used an improvised Tickle attack, however the move Tickle wasn't released until Generation III. *Meowth claimed to be learning Night Slash in Jumping Rocket Ship!, but he has never been seen using the move. The reason to this is that he claimed the move too scary to use. *Meowth also improvised a move that he called Fury Swipes of Love in the episode For The Love Of Meowth to protect a Glameow he was in love with. In the games Pokémon Yellow Version Meowth appears as part of Jessie and James's team each time they appear, alongside Ekans/Koffing and their evolved forms. However, unlike in the anime, Meowth resides in a Poké Ball instead of traveling around with Jessie and James. Pokémon Puzzle League Meowth is a playable character, along with Jessie and James. Their theme is Double Trouble. Category:Character Pokémon Category:Meowth Category:Male Pokémon Category:Wild Pokémon Category:Team Rocket members Category:Team Rocket Agents Category:Team Rocket trio Category:Team Rocket's Pokémon Category:Ash's friends